By Tilda Tally-ho. Read me in "The Kennett Paper" every Thursday. Contact me at uvilleblogger@gmail.com

Thursday, March 2, 2017

NEWLIN: One lane only

When I heard on March 2 that Brandywine Creek Road was being closed to westbound traffic in Newlin Township, I had to investigate. Sure enough, just east of Harvey's Bridge, PennDOT workers were installing concrete barriers next to the guardrail to reduce the already narrow road down to one lane. The scenic stretch of the road runs along the top of a steep slope that goes straight down to the creek, and the problem is that the pavement is actually crumbling down the hill. The detour for westbound traffic uses Harvey's Bridge Road, which has its own issues: as one former resident notes, "It is very narrow and has a killer S-curve that is `blind' -- beep your horn when going through and go slowly!"Also, when they say that this stretch of road is reduced to one lane, they mean it. There's a concrete barrier on one side and a hill with rocks on the other, with no shoulder whatsoever.Nearby, but on the other side of the creek, Laurel Road has been completely closed to through-traffic since May 2014, when part of the road collapsed after a heavy storm.

Brandywine Creek Road is being closed to westbound traffic in Newlin Township, near Harvey's Bridge.